2009

2009 Workshop Handbook Pottery Tools and Studio Resources
The clay tools and reference material offered here are meant to be accessible enough to be applicable to all kinds of ceramic work, regardless of your current skill level or experience. They are refined enough to be useful for advanced pottery projects, and easy enough to make so that you could use them in a beginning ceramics class. If you’ve ever made your own pottery tool, you know how it can individualize your pottery. A clay tool made with your own hands makes a mark like no other tool. Some of these pottery tools require no other tools beyond those you already have for making pottery. A clay stamp for your name is a tool that is about as individual as it gets. One of the best things about making your own clay tool, or simply buying a new tool for a pottery project, is that it can help you find a new way of looking at a familiar process. These pottery tools will kick start your efforts in the studio. We hope that you’ll find some inspiration in these pages that opens your eyes, your mind and your hands to something new and exciting.

Clay Tools: Forming
Ingenious gadgets and techniques to make your pottery projects easier and maybe a little more interesting.

Dividing Web
by Sylvia Shirley
A popular time-saving clay tool that is indispensable when sectioning the surface of pottery in preparation for decoration.

Clay Tools: Decoration
Simple pottery tools you can make that will let you spend less time preparing and more time decorating your pottery.

Clay Tool Manufacturers and Suppliers
Don’t lose this list! It has anything and everything you need to locate pottery tools, equipment, and supplies for the clay studio.

Clay Tools: Forming
Right Angle Jig
Many years ago while handbuilding a large form, I needed a support for the slabs while joining the edges, so I built a right angle jig to support the form in progress. Over the years, this has become an invaluable tool when building architectural forms. I use a simple structure that supports boards with slabs at a right angle while attaching them. This system is used for various architectural segments such as corbels, square tops of capitals or square vessels. Begin with two pieces of ½-inch plywood cut to 12×15 inches. Cut a right angle shape out of each piece. To connect these notched ends, cut two 15-inch-long braces and one 14-inch-long brace from 4-inch-wide plywood boards. Attach the braces to each side and the middle. Two sheets of plywood complete the jig. Cut out all the clay pieces during the same session and store overnight on sheetrock or gypsum board under Create the form from ½-inch plywood. plastic. Tip: Design tarpaper patterns then cut and press them onto the slab. Use tarpaper patterns much like sewing patterns but plan for the thickness of the clay. Store and reuse tarpaper patterns. Use a 45° bevel cutter to cut the edges of the Two plywood boards complete the jig. shapes that will later be joined at right angles. You can also use a cutoff wire held tightly and pulled along the edge, or a fettling knife held at a 45° angle. On the second day, or after the slabs have stiffened, score and slip the Butted slabs with 45° angles placed edge of one and place in in jig. the plywood cradle. Score and slip a second slab and slide it down to meet the edge of the first slab. Fill the seam with a coil and smooth with a rib. To remove, tilt the whole works and slide the boards and slabs onto the table. Gently pull the boards away from the clay, All four sides and the bottom are joined in the jig. which should stand free.

Terra-cotta corbels constructed using the right angle jig.

After joining the remaining two sides, attach the bottom, then attach the other assembled sides to complete the basic form. Remove from the jig and finish the exterior seams the same as the interior seams. To work on the top and bottom, sandwich the form with bats and flip it over. Finish the surface with ribs or a Surform tool. has a much shorter lifespan, I consider it a good trade-off. —Marcia Selsor, Brownsville, Texas

Circular Slabs
To begin, roll out a slab of clay large enough for your mold. For this plate I rolled the clay to 3⁄8 of an inch thick using 3⁄8-inch dowel rods on each side of the clay as a guide. To create different-size circles, use a disc cutter that has an arm with multiple holes. Place a needle tool in the appropriate hole, then swing the arm in a circle to cut the clay. Lightly wipe the clay with a damp sponge to smooth the surface. Tip: I roll out slabs on heavy-duty interfacing material rather than canvas as it avoids having to remove the canvas marks. Even though interfacing has a much shorter lifespan, I consider it a good trade-off. —Denise Wilz, Green Lane, Pennsylvania

Clay Tools: Forming The Slip Cup
For multiple lines, I use a small plastic container with a tight fitting lid. I cut three small-diameter drinking straws to about 2 inches in length, and insert them in a straight line approximately 1 inch from the top, with about ¼ inch of the straw inside the container. I apply glue around each hole to seal it and tape the straws together on the outside so they are always the same distance apart, otherwise they’ll move while you’re using it. Trim the outside straw ends so they’re all the same length. Fill the container with slip that is thin enough to pour from the straws but not too fast. Replace the lid and test the consistency. This tool can be used to make straight and/ or wavy lines. —Denise Wilz, Green Lane, Pennsylvania dry, mount the plastic bat on your bat pins, insert a terra-cotta tile and throw your pot. You can quickly remove the tile and insert a fresh one for your next pot. A terra-cotta tile costs about 30 cents, so it makes a really cheap bat. —Sylvia Shirley, Pittsburg, Kansas

Squeeze and Score
With a little squeeze, this tool automatically supplies water to the clay you are scoring to make attachments. To make it, you will need an empty glue bottle and a piece of coat hanger or heavy wire that is 1 inch longer than the height of the bottle and slightly larger in diameter than the hole in the cap. Sharpen one end of the wire with a file or grinder and insert it through the hole in the cap. You will need to cut off the stopper inside the cap first. Bend the blunt end of the wire at a 90° angle so it rests against the bottom of the bottle (this will provide stability when scoring). Fill the bottle with water and squeeze. Drops of water will run down to the tip of the wire, wetting the clay that you are scoring. If water does not squeeze out, just move the wire left and right to make the hole bigger and try again. —Paveen Chunhaswasdikul, Gadsden, Alabama

Quick-Change Artist

Temporary Template
I have found that rigid foam-core board, used by artists and framers, is a handy material for creating templates for repeated shapes to be thrown on the wheel. It can be easily cut with a single-edge blade or a mat knife, and it can be sanded smooth. Since it is paper on both sides, it must be made waterproof, and emulsion wax resist works great. Do not use an acrylic spray, because it will melt the foam in the core. I have used these templates for as many as 25 duplicate forms. They can be used for interior as well as exterior shapes. —Robert Brown, Miami, Florida
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For throwing mugs and small bowls, I use a quick-change bat system. To make one, you need one square plastic bat that attaches to your wheel head with bat pins, PVC molding from the hardware store, PVC cement, and some commercial 6-inch-square terra-cotta tiles. Cut the PVC molding into two 5-inch lengths and two 4¼-inch lengths. Place one of the terra-cotta tiles in the center of the plastic bat and dry-fit the PVC molding around it, leaving two corners open to make it easy to remove the tiles. Glue down the molding with the cement and let it dry. Remove the tile from the assembly while it dries or you won’t get it out later. Once it’s

This handy guide makes it easy to divide the surface of any round pot into as many as twelve equal sections. Whether you’re decorating, darting, paddling or attaching handles and spouts, you’ll want to keep a few of these around the studio.

The pointer helps you transfer marks from the dividing web to the pot. Make sure the bottom of the pointer block is square and the front side is perpendicular. The arms can be made from Popsicle sticks.

2×2×6-inch wood block

Using the Dividing Web

Center a pot on the wheel. Draw circles on the pot using a red felt-tip pen. Align the pointer with the selected line and position the Popsicle sticks to touch the pot. Tighten the wing nuts. Make a tic mark on the pot at the end of the Popsicle stick using the red felt pen. Move the pointer to the next position and repeat.

Ideas to Get Started

Accurately marking off divisions on your form opens up a world of potential design work. Once the desired number of marks are made, decorate as desired, using sgrafitto, trailed slip, brushed oxides, etc.

Studio Tools: Decoration
A Tango of Texture
Rossheim has found that the color of her bowls speaks loudly to her audience, so both Rossheim and Marrinson add only the tiniest bit of texture to finish off a vessel. Through trial and error, Rossheim discovered that a box of wooden pencils that she sharpened and taped together create an effective pencil stippler. Once pieces have dried to the right hardness, the stippler can be applied to the outside surface of a bowl to create the textures that add interest to the piece without overshadowing the form and color. The only hitch is to watch the amount of pressure being applied. Too much force will puncture the surface and require repair. If the work can’t be repaired, it’s back to the drawing board. —Emily Rossheim, Starksboro, Vermont

Glaze Patterns
Glaze application methods are as infinite as our imagination. Nearly every item around my studio or house has the potential to be a glaze applicator. It just takes a little imagination to see the potential, and experimenting is key to discovering new ideas. For every new idea, there is a pile of attempts. But don’t be too quick to discard the failures. Hidden in almost every failure are the beginnings of a new success, you just need to look at it in the right context. —Frank James Fisher, Milford, Michigan

Using a sponge roller, roll the glaze over the cheesecloth.

Peel away cheesecloth to reveal texture. Experiment with other open materials such as lace, nylon window screen, etc.

Pinning Parallel Lines
I became frustrated by not being able to draw parallel lines in curves or arcs on my work when it is leather hard. If I tried to draw the lines separately, it would never work, and even if I held two tools at once, one would always wander. I found that a clothespin actually performs this task wonderfully. I sharpen the ends you use as a handle (if you were actually using it as a clothespin) and use these points to draw the lines. They are held at a consistent distance apart, and are infinitely adjustable between open and closed. To adjust the space between the points, I put various small cylindrical objects in the groove of the “mouth” of the pin (pen caps, pencils, dowels). The larger the object in the mouth, the closer the lines become. This tool has become a staple in our studio. —Ken Magee, Tallahassee, Florida

Roll the glaze onto the domed pills of the bubble wrap.

Roll your form across the glazed bubble wrap.

Sprigs from Nature
Sprigs are press-molded clay pieces added to leather-hard work. They are created using small molds made of bisque-fired clay or plaster. Begin by using the finest grain clay you have. While porcelain is best, I have used fine-grain white stoneware with good results. Shape the exterior of the mold by rolling or tapping on a cloth surface. To make it easier to hold on to, make the mold long or add a handle to the back. Flatten the front of it. If desired, add texture by pressing the mold on a textured cloth or other surface.
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Studio Tools: Decoration A Tango of Texture
Rossheim has found that the color of her bowls speaks loudly to her audience, so both Rossheim and Marrinson add only the tiniest bit of texture to finish off a vessel. Through trial and error, Rossheim discovered that a box of wooden pencils that she sharpened and taped together create an effective pencil stippler. Once pieces have dried to the right hardness, the stippler can be applied to the outside surface of a bowl to create the textures that add interest to the piece without overshadowing the form and color. The only hitch is to watch the amount of pressure being applied. Too much force will puncture the surface and require repair. If the work can’t be repaired, it’s back to the drawing board. —Emily Rossheim, Starksboro, Vermont

perpendicular to the wheel head. An extruder I became frustrated by not stamps is to wrap a clay slab around a tubular can also produce tubular shapes for rolling being able to draw parallel lines dowel or stamps. Just cap the ends with slabs, leaving shape (a cardboard tube, wooden small holes in the center to allow dowels to be used as handles. Interesting surfaces can be obtained by cutting the cylinders into sections and reassembling the parts into different positions.

plastic pipe), which provide a rigid backing when applying a texture to the slabs. A piece of newspaper placed between the form and the clay will prevent sticking when removing the support. Stamps also can be made by throwing a cylindrical or conical form. The center spout is pulled up first, then the outer wall is raised to form the working surface of the stamp, which will be carved when leather hard. Make sure that the outer surface is

After bisque firing, simply roll the stamps over the surface of the clay with the palm of the hand while varying the pressure to correspond to the width of the stamp. The rolling stamp is ideal for quickly decorating a platter rim. The stamp, held rigidly in a fixed position, quickly prints out the repeated pattern as the wheel spins. Lifting at the right moment can be tricky, but a little practice is all you need. —William Shinn, Santa Maria, California
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